Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

This is a discussion on Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America within The International Automotive Scene, part of the BHP Worldwide category; Originally Posted by AltoHoncho
Hi... I wanted some of your inputs and suggestions on Lexus IS250. I am about to ...

Hi... I wanted some of your inputs and suggestions on Lexus IS250. I am about to make a purchase offer for it, Is there anything you advice me for. Its a used vehicle and 70k miles driven but maintained really well.
Its a V6 but a Lx so do I really need to get a waaranty unlike the german V6? There is a BMW on offer too but about $3k higher than the Lex, anything on that front would be helpful.

Depends on what you are looking for, I personally felt Lexus doesn't handle as well as BMW, and lacks performance.

Maintenance wise I reckon Lexus must be at par with the 3 series costs.

Guys, i remember there was discussion happening few weeks back on how people use rentals to avoid putting high miles on their personal rides to increase resale values.

I, for one, love driving and put lot of miles on my vehicles. My Jetta which I bought new last year in July, stands at 13000 miles on ODO today. I am planning to take a week long vacation in July this year and drive to Florida from NJ and back. This trip will put another 2500-3000 miles and i may have to go for second service (scheduled at 19000 miles in 2014) by fall this year.

Now, while planning this trip with wifey, the discussion about NOT putting many miles on personal vehicles struck me and I am concerned whether to go for this long road trip or not.

Though we will surely save few hundred bucks if we drive down instead of flying, that was not the sole reason of choosing driving. Our obsession of long road trips and exploring new places by road can't be explained

Here I am faced with the dilema again... heart vs mind... I have a BMW 328i and a Lx IS250 available for purchase here in US... now kinda confused... the age and miles are nearly same and the Lx holds its value too as compared to BMW... its a 3k USD premium for the BMW vs the speccd Lx...
Not sure which one to zero down on... HELP !!

If it was me, I would prefer the 328. Roads over here are fairly ok, and the 328 is a better sports sedan than the Lexus. But yes, you do have to live with the quirks of owning BMW's - some additional service visits, and a little less reliability - costs you pay for some extra fun. Btw, in my opinion, both cars are little underpowered, but that is just me. I know for most driving conditions, they are excellent cars. If you are talking about the straight 6 328i, that is a beautiful engine. If you are talking about the new gen 4 cylinder turbo 328, I have some reservations, but it is plenty powerful. I don't really like the 2.5 v6 on the Lexus though.

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Now, while planning this trip with wifey, the discussion about NOT putting many miles on personal vehicles struck me and I am concerned whether to go for this long road trip or not.

Though we will surely save few hundred bucks if we drive down instead of flying, that was not the sole reason of choosing driving. Our obsession of long road trips and exploring new places by road can't be explained

Would like to hear your thoughts on this! Thanks!

I am in the same boat as you are (60K miles in 4 yrs) and I don't give a hoot! I am going to keep this car till I can and by that time, the difference will be no more than $5-600.

If you are that concerned, rent and drive. I feel that when you drive, the vacation starts as soon as you step out the door . Actually might be a good idea to take out something nicer (or bigger if you have extra stuff to carry).

I am in the same boat as you are (60K miles in 4 yrs) and I don't give a hoot! I am going to keep this car till I can and by that time, the difference will be no more than $5-600.

If you are that concerned, rent and drive. I feel that when you drive, the vacation starts as soon as you step out the door . Actually might be a good idea to take out something nicer (or bigger if you have extra stuff to carry).

I use my rental points/miles if I have a long driving rental coming up - that way I don't end up spending a lot of money on the rental. Thanks to a traveling job for that !.

For most under 600- 700 mile round trips, I just use one of our cars. I do try to rent if it gets to 1000 - 1500 miles. Only if it is affordable.

I am going to keep this car till I can and by that time, the difference will be no more than $5-600.

If you are that concerned, rent and drive. I feel that when you drive, the vacation starts as soon as you step out the door . Actually might be a good idea to take out something nicer (or bigger if you have extra stuff to carry).

Totally agree. I don't worry about resale much and enjoy the initial good years of car myself rather then saving it for someone else. Nor that my car has excellent resale anyways

Renting a fun car for a change (Mustang??) is also a good option nevertheless.

But my next car will definitely be a Diesel (Passat or Mazda 6) just for the sheer tank range and mileage I am putting every year.

Totally agree. I don't worry about resale much and enjoy the initial good years of car myself rather then saving it for someone else. Nor that my car has excellent resale anyways

Renting a fun car for a change (Mustang??) is also a good option nevertheless.

But my next car will definitely be a Diesel (Passat or Mazda 6) just for the sheer tank range and mileage I am putting every year.

Yep, personal car makes sense if its still in its initial years (less than 20-25k) even if you go far off places. Wanting a more fun car or a bigger car to drive has its own case too. OT: I've booked a 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Limited and I'm waiting for it to arrive to go on a long drive

Guys, i remember there was discussion happening few weeks back on how people use rentals to avoid putting high miles on their personal rides to increase resale values.
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Would like to hear your thoughts on this! Thanks!

You'll hear varying options from everybody but if you guys love road trips then I say drive down.
I never rent unless it's unavoidable.

Cars are meant to be driven and a rental car won't make a road trip any more enjoyable.

As long as cars are maintained well, they last long. Mechanical failures are to be expected as a car ages but the current crop of cars last well beyond 100k with regular maintenance.

Amen to that! I went on a trip to White Mountains (again) over the weekend. Every time i got into the car, i got a feeling of being home, which a rental would not have given.

You guys are tempting me to drive our Infiniti to Niagara/DC/NY in the summer! I should actually have enough points to rent almost anything except the top 2-3 classes of cars for free by then though. I completely agree that nothing else gives you the "at home" feeling than your own car!

Amen to that! I went on a trip to White Mountains (again) over the weekend. Every time i got into the car, i got a feeling of being home, which a rental would not have given.

Very tempting, is this a good time(Memorial Day long Weekend is coming) to visit WM or is Fall a better time?

Quote:

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

You guys are tempting me to drive our Infiniti to Niagara/DC/NY in the summer! I should actually have enough points to rent almost anything except the top 2-3 classes of cars for free by then though. I completely agree that nothing else gives you the "at home" feeling than your own car!

+1

I am tempted to drive to White Mountains after looking at these pictures & the ones posted earlier by Amitoj.

You guys are tempting me to drive our Infiniti to Niagara/DC/NY in the summer! I should actually have enough points to rent almost anything except the top 2-3 classes of cars for free by then though. I completely agree that nothing else gives you the "at home" feeling than your own car!

Wow! You've just planted an idea in my head. Niagara from Chicago it is! Thanks, so I may also go on a similar drive with my family sometime late summer this year. My visiting parents are in immense pressure from their friends in India to visit Niagara, the desi pilgrim/tourist center so to speak

I see that you own a Subaru Forester. Hows Forester in regards to long drives ?

The White Mountains area is great to go in early summer. Make sure you drive up Mt. Washington.

Most people stand on their brakes driving down & you can smell the burning pads & see billowing white smoke.

Try to avoid long weekends as summer weekend rush is usually heavy.
There are some beautiful driving roads in the area but heavy traffic spoils the fun. Traffic is light early in the morning & late in the evening.